Unrequited Love
by lightfagami
Summary: After Monica decides that her and Chandler should just stay friends after their night together in London, Chandler can't stop thinking about her. Convinced Monica doesn't feel the same way, he keeps his feelings to himself. Will Chandler admit his feelings to Monica, or keep her in the dark? Mondler story. Rated M for upcoming sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

**AN:** **Hey guys, this is my first Mondler fanfic. I absolutely love the pairing - I couldn't resist! Anyway, all praise and criticism is accepted - really, I want to make sure I'm doing the best I can with the story. I hope you enjoy it! Chapter 2 will be up soon.**

* * *

Chandler was sleeping, snoring quietly, his duvet strewn across the mattress. He'd had some trouble sleeping recently. Every night for the past 2 weeks, he'd been kept up by the thoughts of Monica swimming around in his head. He replayed the night they spent in London together over and over. The way he held her so close, her thick black hair tickling his chin, a rosy smell immersed over her petite, fragile body. The way she smiled at him and snuggled into his chest as he stroked her back and wrapped his arms around her small waist. It was the most romantic night of his life. But their love came to an abrupt end once they'd come back to New York.

"Chandler, we can't carry on with this. It was a wonderful night, and you're a wonderful guy… but things will get too complicated. I think it'd be best for both of us if we stayed as just friends."

He remembered those words. He remembered how he felt when he heard them. His heart ached and his stomach dropped. The words were like piercing daggers. Of course, he didn't want Monica to know this. He nodded his head and spoke words of agreement. _Just friends._ He wondered how Monica could even bring herself to say that after the night they spent together. It was obviously not as special to her as it was to him. He'd been with a few women, but nothing had ever felt so right. He remembers when Monica finally drifted off whilst lying on his chest; he spent the remainder of the night cuddling her and feeling her body rise and fall with each breath she took. In that moment, he realised he wanted to hold her forever, and never let go. But obviously that would remain a dream. Monica didn't feel the same. And that's how it would always be.

* * *

Chandler awoke to a distant shouting coming from the living room. He brought his head from the pillow, his eyes sunken. He blinked them rapidly before wiping them with his hands. The shouting was becoming louder. He glared over to his alarm: 7:50AM. He sighed to himself. All he wanted was a decent night's sleep, but obviously that was too much to ask. He went to push the duvet from him to realise it'd fallen into a pile on the floor. He dismissed this and rose out of bed, reaching for his dressing gown and tying it around himself. He let out a gaping yawn and let himself out of his bedroom. His eyes met with a disgruntled Joey who was now whacking a jar off the counter.

"Godammit, let me have some peanut butter!" He shouted, beginning to whack the jar harder and harder onto the counter.

Chandler flailed and ran over to him. "Wh-what the hell are you doing, you big freak?!" He asked, widening his eyes.

"I want peanut butter!" Joey whined, bringing the beaten jar back up. "I can't get it open."

Chandler fidgeted and took the jar from him. "I do not want to be woken up, on a Saturday, at 8am, because you can't open a jar of peanut butter!" He complained, slamming the jar down onto the counter. "Why can't you have something else?"

Joey fumbled a little as a guilty expression fell across his face. "There's nothing left." He said, laughing nervously.

Chandler eyed him, before sighing deeply. "You forgot to shop, didn't you?"

Joey nodded slowly at him, biting his lip.

"Whatever, I'll go out later. Just let me sleep." Chandler mumbled, taking his hand from the jar and retreating back to his bedroom. Just as he reached for the doorknob, he heard the door swing open.

"Guys, quick! You need to come over right now!" A familiar voice shouted. Chandler turned to see Rachel standing in the doorway.

"What's going on?!" Chandler asked alarmingly, running to Rachel to see tears built up in her eyes.

"Just come on!" Rachel pestered, before running back into her apartment.

Chandler and Joey both quickly ran over to the opposite apartment to see Rachel kneeling on the floor, holding Monica in her arms – her eyes were closed and her body seemed limp. Rachel brought Monica closer to herself, stroking her head and crying softly.

"Monica!" Chandler shouted, running over to the two girls and kneeling beside them, Joey following quickly behind him.

"What's happened?! Is she breathing?" Chandler asked, sliding his arms underneath Monica and bringing her to him. "Monica? Monica can you hear me?!" He pleaded desperately, tears welling up in his eyes.

Rachel stood up, "I-I was getting ready to go meet my Dad when I heard a thump from the kitchen." She started, her voice catching. Joey wrapped his arms around her and kissed her on the head. Rachel sniffled, "I ran in there to see her collapsed on the floor. I've called 911 and they said they'll be here as soon as they can." She burst into tears again and Joey cradled her softly. Chandler turned to Monica and observed her expressionless face. _This can't be happening, _he thought, _Not Monica. She can't go. I love her._

Chandler lifted Monica into his arms and placed her on the sofa. He began to unbutton her shirt.

"Dude! What the hell are you doing?! Monica's in trouble! Now's not the time!" Joey shouted at him, furrowing his brows, in utter disbelief at Chandler's actions.

Chandler ignored him and began pressing down on Monica's chest, as Rachel explained to Joey that Chandler wasn't taking this as an opportunity to grope Monica.

Chandler persisted with the chest pressing, before bringing himself to her lips and blowing into her mouth. Monica gave no response. Chandler could no longer hold in his tears as they began rolling down his face. "Please, Monica! Monica, wake up! We need you!" He cried, pushing on her chest quicker and quicker and re-returning to her lips. Just then, the apartment door swung open as two paramedics charged in with a stretcher.

"Who're we looking for?" One paramedic spoke, as Joey pointed over to Monica and Chandler, still holding Rachel closely to him. The paramedics marched over and pulled Monica onto the stretcher. "Now, only one of you can come along in the ambulance, but the rest of you will have to wait." The second paramedic spoke, as they quickly ran out of the apartment.

"I'll go." Chandler said, as he rose up from the sofa and ran into his apartment, swiping the first coat he could see. He pulled it onto himself, "I'll call you guys as soon as I know what's going on." He said, giving one last look to Joey and Rachel.

"She's gunna be okay, man." Joey reassured them, cuddling Rachel and looking back to Chandler.

Chandler nodded to them silently, before running out of the apartment to catch up with the ambulance.


	2. Chapter 2

Chandler burst through the apartment block's doors and sprinted over to the ambulance he could see parked in the near distance. He watched in disbelief as the paramedics hauled Monica into the back of the ambulance. Her stillness haunted him, sending shivers down his spine. _She looks like she could be dead,_ he thought, before quickly trying to shake that thought out of his head. Of course she wasn't going to die. _Monica's a fighter, a competitor, she hates to lose!_ He mused, chuckling to himself. She really was competitive, a sore loser… but that didn't bother him at all. He loved her, no matter what. She could gain all the weight she had back in high school and his feelings wouldn't change a bit. To him, Monica was perfect, and no matter what, he would never stop loving her. He snapped back to reality when he noticed the paramedic ushering him into the back of the ambulance. He quickly hopped in and shut the doors behind him. He grabbed Monica's hand and held it tightly.

"I'm here Monica, don't you worry. I won't let anything happen to you." He spoke softly, kissing her on the forehead before the paramedics interrupted, armed with defibrillators.

* * *

Chandler waited outside anxiously, tapping his foot and biting his nails – something he did only when he was nearly falling off the edge. His mind couldn't stop dwelling on how it would be without Monica.

It just wouldn't be the same. She was like the glue to the group; she kept everyone together, she was the one who always gave the best advice, the one who cared for all of them. She always put up with Chandler's antics, she always laughed at his cheesy jokes, and comforted him when he was feeling down. Chandler felt that, without Monica, he definitely wouldn't be the person he is now. Monica helped him become so much stronger. Monica helped him build up the confidence he desperately lacked in himself, and helped him truly believe that there was someone perfect out there for him. Little did Monica know, she's the one he wanted. Chandler promised himself that when Monica came out of that room, alive and well, he would be the one to care for her. He wanted to show Monica how much he appreciated her – how her just being around helped him smile. He'd try his best to make Monica feel as good as she made him feel. It was a promise to himself he was willing to keep. Forever.

His train of thought was put to a halt when he heard the door swing open. He shot up and greeted the doctor, who was grinning softly.

"She pulled through." The doctor said, his grin widening.

Chandler's eyes lit up as a huge smile grew on his face. Tears of happiness began to build up in his eyes as he tried to express his joy.

"D-do you mean it? Monica's gunna be okay?" He said, sniffling.

"Yes, don't you worry. We're still running a few tests to determine the actual cause, but her vitals are stable." The doctor explained to Chandler – the kindness in his voice indicated how happy he was to be telling him good news. He saw how distraught Chandler was when they brought Monica into the hospital. He could tell that he obviously cared a lot for her.

"You can go and see your girlfriend now if you like; she's sleeping at the moment, though. She'll be awake in an hour or so." The doctor finished, before giving him one last smile and heading down the hall.

_Girlfriend? _Chandler thought to himself. Is that really how he came across? He is the one who came along with Monica in the ambulance, but that doesn't mean anything. Did he act in a certain way that gave the doctor that impression? Were his feelings for her that obvious? What if everyone knows how he feels?  
Chandler's mind was racing. _Forget it, man. What you need to do now is see Monica, _he thought to himself. He took a deep breath as he reached for the doorknob and let himself into the room.

His eyes met with Monica, who was lying peacefully in the hospital bed. He watched her chest rise and fall, just like in London. He smiled to himself. No other sight had ever satisfied him so much. Just seeing Monica breathing, knowing she was alive, put his mind to rest. He had no idea how he would have acted if they'd lost her.

He approached Monica slowly as he sat himself in the chair beside the bed. He reached for her hand once again and stroked it softly with his thumb. She looked so beautiful, even when she was sleeping. She wasn't wearing any make-up, and her hair was a mess on the top of her head, but she still stunned him. He kissed Monica's hand and carried on caressing it.

"Mon? You there?" He asked her, hoping she would wake up. "Chandler's here."

It took a few moments before Monica's eyes began to flutter open. She blinked a little before she realised where she was. She shot up quickly, before clasping her chest with her hand, like in pain.

"What-what happened? Why am I in the hospital?" She asked frantically, before turning to see who was holding her hand.

She smiled.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Hey guys, I'm so sorry, I'm aware it's taken me so long to post up a new chapter. I've been swamped with school work. But hey, I've left for good now, so I have lots of time to write some more fanfic! I think this chapter is particularly weak, but I just wanted to get the story rolling again. I promise the quality will pick up. Anyway, let me know what you think!**

* * *

"Chandler." she said, a little breathless. She had no idea why, but a huge rush of happiness reveled through her as her eyes met with his. His blue eyes loomed at her, twinkling slightly. Monica had never been so happy.

She looked down to see Chandler's hand over hers. Her smile widened and she placed her free hand over his. His touch was warm and firm. His tight grip on her hand somehow made her feel safe - as if nothing would ever hurt her. She was still clueless as to why she was in the hospital, but she knew she would remember this moment forever.

"You feeling okay, Mon?" He asked, taking her hands into his and grazing them with his thumbs.  
Monica turned away and blinked for a moment, feeling a tad dizzy. She bobbed her head a little before turning back to Chandler.  
"Sorry," she started, bringing her hand to her head.

"What's the matter? You feeling weak? Want me to get you some water? A pillow? A doctor? Doctor! Doctor, get in here!" Chandler began to call, standing up quickly.

Monica chuckled to herself, "No, silly, I'm fine." she assured him, pulling him back down. "I'm feeling okay, just a little dizzy... and weak." She told him.

"...Did you really just call yourself weak?" Chandler joked, a small smile growing on his face.

"If I had the energy to, I'd be hitting you over the head right now." Monica retorted, smiling along with him. She hated to admit it, but she'd always slightly enjoyed it when Chandler teased her. She'd always pretend to be annoyed and reply with something half as funny, and even less than half as witty, but it always made her heart flutter.

"What happened, Chandler?" She asked him.

"Rachel found you collapsed in the kitchen this morning. She called me and Joey in and we called for an ambulance right away. You weren't breathing." Chandler explained to her, a small catch in his throat.

"Hey, hey, don't worry, I'm okay!"

"I know, but just... seeing you lying there, y'know? It was... horrible."

A silence filled the small hospital room. Not an awkward silence, but a thoughtful silence.

Chandler began to remember how he felt when he saw Monica lying on the floor. She was so still. So limp. It sent shivers throughout his body. He had no idea what he would have done if he'd lost her.

Monica began to remember the night they spend together in London. She remembered how passionate and loving Chandler was. How careful he was with her... She rarely saw that side to Chandler, and she was seeing it again right now. It was truly endearing.

Just then, the door burst open, as Ross, Rachel, Phoebe and Joey flooded into the room.

"Monica!" They all said in unison, running over to her and all trying to hug her at once. A muffled voice came out of Monica, incomphrehendable.  
"Hey guys, come on! She's just woken up!" Chandler told them, trying to rear them all away from Monica. They all backed away and looked at them both together.

"Are you okay, Monica? Oh god, I was so worried. I've never been more scared in my life!" Rachel told her, worry falling over her face. "I'm so glad to see you."  
Monica smiled weakly, "It's great to see you all too."

"So, what happened to you exactly?" Phoebe asked, "It's so crazy because my psychic told me evil would befall onto one of you this week. I assumed it was going to be something to do with Chandler and that sock I found beside his bed." She joked, chuckling to herself.

"Thanks Pheebs!" Chandler said quickly, a false smile covering his face. "The doctor says that they're still unsure, but that she should be fine for now." He told the group as they listened intently.

"I'm so relieved. My baby sister, I'm so glad your safe." Ross said, leaning over to kiss her on the head. Monica smiled. "Love you."

"Hey guys, aren't we forgetting something?" Joey hinted, raising his eyebrows.

"What, Joe?" Chandler asked, a sense of dread hinted in his voice.

"You! You were a hero today! Coming through for Monica like that!" Joey said, smiling widely.

"Yeah Mon, you shoulda seen this one! Didn't know you knew CPR, Chandler." Rachel said, "Who knows what would have happened if you weren't with us."  
Chandler blushed a little, looking away from Monica.

She placed her hand on his once again, softly turned his chin, and pecked him on the lips.


End file.
